Feed dispenser

ABSTRACT

An improved animal feed dispenser is provided having a slow speed paddle wheel and a high speed distributor wheel. The high speed distributor wheel transports feed out of an opening in the device to spread it on the ground. The slow speed paddle wheel moves feed at a measured rate from a storage hopper and feeds it to the distributor wheel. A detachable mounting plate is used to attach the dispenser to a storage hopper, and is releasable therefrom without emptying the hopper of feed. The slow speed paddle wheel is formed from a material flexible enough to prevent feed jams caused by water absorption of the feed and other events.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to feeder equipment, and morespecifically to an improved device for dispersing animal and fish feed.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Feeding of wildlife and fish using automated feeders is well known inthe art. Numerous designs for such automated feeders have been-used, andmost, if not all, of such designs have one or several drawbacks.

An important general issue related to such feeders is that ofreliability. Automated feeders can jam in use, and the unattended natureof such devices means that a jam may go undetected for an extendedperiod of time. A feed jam means that the desired function of providingfeed to wildlife is not implemented. Further, such jams can cause damageto the feeder itself, such as burning out a drive motor or bending aportion of the feeder. Animal feed is highly hygroscopic, so it swellsand becomes sticky over time. Because of this, feed jams are relativelycommon in currently available feeder designs.

Current designs also do not lend themselves to easy maintenance in thefield. In order to clear a jam, typically a portion of the feeder mustbe disassembled, and the current designs do not make this processsimple. It is often difficult to determine exactly what the cause of thejam even is, in many cases.

Current feeder designs are usually relatively large and bulky, makingthem difficult to transport and set up. They are also difficult toattach and remove from commonly available feed buckets and hoppers.

It would be desirable to provide an improved animal feed dispenser thatis both simple to use and easy to maintain. It is preferable for such adevice to be relatively inexpensive of manufacture, easy to use andclear in the field, reliable, small in size, and capable of easyattachment to and removal from a feed hopper.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, an improved animal feeddispenser is provided having a slow speed paddle wheel and a high speeddistributor wheel. The high speed distributor wheel transports feed outof an opening in the device to spread it on the ground. The slow speedpaddle wheel moves feed at a measured rate from a storage hopper andfeeds it to the distributor wheel. A detachable mounting plate is usedto attach the dispenser to a storage hopper, and is releasable therefromwithout emptying the hopper of feed. The slow speed paddle wheel isformed from a material flexible enough to prevent feed jams caused bywater absorption of the feed and other events.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following description is a preferred embodiment of the invention,and is used for illustrative purposes. The invention will be betterunderstood by the following description taken together with thedrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an assembled feed dispenser inaccordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the dispenser unit of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an interior front plate for use in thedispenser of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a partially exploded perspective view of a portion of theinterior of the dispenser of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a view of the mounting hardware for a paddle wheel used in thedispenser of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the inside back cover of the dispenserof FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a side view of the dispenser of FIG. 1 attached to a feedhopper;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the dispenser of FIG. 1 showing detailsof the attachment structure; and

FIG. 9 is a side view of the dispenser attached to a hopper, with ablocking plate in the blocking position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the followingdescription of a preferred embodiment is illustrative rather thanlimiting. Additional features may be added to a feed device withoutchanging the nature of the invention, and various alternative designdetails will become apparent to those skilled in the art.

The feed dispenser described herein is a self contained unit that issuitable for use with almost any feed hopper available on the market. Itcan be mounted in a fixed installation, or used with a portable feeddevice. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, theadaptability and flexibility of its design solves most of the problemsthat are common with currently available feed dispensers.

Referring to FIG. 1, a feed dispenser 10 includes a main casing 12having attached thereto a front plate 14. A dispenser chute 16 isattached to the front of front plate 14, and directs feed that isexpelled form the unit. Front plate 14 is preferably attached to maincasing 12 using four screws 18, only three of which are visible in FIG.1.

Adapter housing 20 is attached to the top of casing 12, and has anopening 22 therein through which feed flows. Details of adapter housing20 and the preferred technique for attaching it to a feed hopper aredescribed in connection with FIGS. 7-9. The flow of feed into thedispenser can be blocked using blocking plate 24 as described later. Innormal operation, feed drops through opening 22 into the interior ofcasing 12, and is ejected at a high velocity through dispenser chute 16.

FIG. 2 is an exploded diagram of dispenser 10, showing most of the partsused to construct same. Blocking plate carrier 24 is attached to adapterhousing 20 using screws, and supports and carries blocking plate 24.Blocking plate 24 is able to slide forward (to the left in the drawing).When blocking plate 24 is pushed toward the rear of the device (to theright in the drawing), blocking plate opening 28 is aligned with opening22, allowing feed to fall, under the influence of gravity, into theinterior of casing 12. Opening 22 forms a cylinder, or tunnel, thatextends downward to the plane defined by the top of blocking plate 24.This constrains feed to move only in alignment with the variousopenings, and acts in conjunction with blocking plate 24 to completelystop feed flow when blocking plate 24 is pulled forward. Opening 30 inblocking plate carrier 26, and notch 32 in the casing 12, are alignedwith opening 22 at all times.

Adapter housing 20 preferably is easily removable from casing 12. In thepreferred embodiment, this is accomplished using tabs 34 and notches 36that engage tabs 34. Depressing tabs 34 enables the adapter housing 20to slide off of casing 12. When the adapter is mounted to a relativelyfixed hopper, casing 12 is actually moved relative to adapter housing bysliding casing 12 back to remove it. Tabs 34 act to hold the adapterhousing 20 and casing 12 in a fixed relationship except when removal isintended.

Electric motor 38 is mounted substantially horizontally, and impeller 40is attached thereto. Although a horizontal orientation for motor 38 ispreferred, other orientations can be used to good effect if desired. Aninterior front plate (not shown in FIG. 2) is attached to casing 12, andmotor 38 is attached to it. Motor cover 42 holds motor 38 and impeller40 in place, and is attached to the interior front plate. Impeller 40 isaligned with opening 44 in front plate 12, which is turn is aligned withchute 16.

Motor 38 preferably operates at a high speed, and in the preferredembodiment operated at approximately 12,000 rpm. This high impellerspeed not only distributes feed at a significant distance using a verysmall impeller, but also operates to prevent feed jams at the impeller.The high speed will tend to cut through any feed pellets that are in aposition to otherwise jam the impeller.

The interior of front plate 12 and the interior front plate (not shown)form a chamber in which impeller 40 spins. This chamber has smallclearances, so that feed cannot become stuck between the impeller andthe surrounding walls of the chamber.

Feed is fed to impeller 40 at a measured rate by paddle wheel 46. Paddlewheel 46 is mounted on two gears 48 and axel 50. Paddle wheel 46 ispreferably mounted horizontally, and provides a light friction fit witha surrounding chamber formed from the front plate 12 and interior frontplate. Paddle wheel 46 is made from a soft rubber or similar materialthat can flex if any type of blockage occurs. This prevents paddle wheel46 from jamming, and continued rotation thereof will generally clear outany blockage that starts to occur. The material used is preferably softenough that any blockage will cause the paddle wheel arms to bend aroundan obstruction with very little resistance, so that the motor thatdrives it encounters minimal additional load due to the jam. This meansthat the motor and reducer unit 52 do not slow down by any appreciableamount in the event that a jam does occur. Various soft rubbers andplastics are known in the art, and are suitable for use to fabricate thepaddle wheel 46.

Paddle wheel 46 is driven by motor unit 52, which includes a gearreduction assembly, as well as a motor that operates at a relatively lowspeed while maintaining minimal torque requirements. A relatively hightorque is required, because of resistance generated by the gear reducer.In the preferred embodiment, the motor in unit 52 operates atapproximately 2000 rpm, and the gear reducer causes the paddle wheel tooperate at a speed preferably less than approximately 100 rpm, andpreferably closer to 30 rpm. This slow turning provides a measuredamount of feed to the impeller. When paddle wheel 46 is not turning,feed is blocked from passing through to the impeller.

As described in more detail in connection with FIG. 4, a printed circuitboard (PCB) 54 carries a micro switch 56 that presses against a plasticpin molded into front plate 14. This pin extends rearward into thehousing to contact micro switch 56. PCB 54 is attached to casing 12 in afixed position. When front plate 14 is removed, the plastic pin nolonger presses against micro switch 56. Micro switch 56 can thus sensewhen the front cover is removed, and prevent either motor from beingturned on in such event, for safety reasons.

Mounted behind motor unit housing 58 is battery 60. Battery 60 ispreferably a 6 volt battery, and provides power to both motors 38 and52, and to electronic timer 62. An optional remote control unit 64 mayalso be installed, and if so is powered by battery 60 as well.

Back cover 66 is used to close the back end of the device. Back cover ispivotally attached to casing 12, and latched at the upper edge thereofusing spring loaded latch 68. Latch 68 is spring loaded so that simplymoving a slide sideways causes the cover 66 to pop open for easy accessto the interior. Timer 62 and remote control unit 64, if used, areattached to the inside surface of cover 66, and are accessible whencover 66 is opened as illustrated in FIG. 6. When cover 66 is opened,battery 60 can be removed and replaced.

In operation, timer 62 is programmed to dispense feed at selected timesof day. The amount of feed to be dispensed is controlled by controllingthe length of time that the two motors are activated. When motor unit 52is off, no feed passes through the dispenser.

When a feeding interval arrives, motor 38 is first activated and giventime to run up to speed. This delay is preferably a few seconds, whichallows any debris in the impeller chamber to be removed before feed isprovided, and to allow motor 38 to reach full rotational speed. Afterthe start up delay, motor unit 52 is activated, causing feed to dropinto the impeller chamber and be dispensed. When the feeding interval isover, motor unit 52 is stopped while motor 38 remains activated. Thisallows impeller 40 to completely clear out the impeller chamber within acouple of seconds. After the motor unit 52 has been shut off for severalseconds, motor 38 is deactivated, and the unit remains shut off awaitingthe next programmed feeding interval.

Timer 62 preferably can be programmed as known in the art to providefeed once daily, or multiple times each day. Feeding can occur at dawnand dusk, or at regular intervals throughout the day. Feeding intervalsare generally selected, as known in the art, depending on the animals orfish for which feed is being provided. The unit described herein issuitable for use for all types of animal and fish feed.

FIG. 3 shows the interior front plate attached to the front edge ofcasing 12. A back half of impeller chamber 72 is formed into interiorplate 70, with a corresponding portion formed into front plate 14.Chamber 74 holds motor 38 as previously described. Motor cover 42 holdsmotor 38 into chamber 74.

A drive shaft 76 from motor unit 52 is connected to paddle wheel 46,which rotates in a paddle wheel chamber 78 formed partially intointerior plate 70. The remaining portion of chamber 78 is formed in acorresponding portion of front plate 14. Casing notch 32 connects to apassageway 80 that allows feed to fall onto the paddles of paddle wheel46 within chamber 78 during normal operation. Thus, when both motors areoperating, feed falls through slot 32, passes through passageway 80, istransported around the left side of paddle wheel chamber 78 by thepaddle wheel, and drops into impeller chamber 72 to be slung at highspeed out through the front opening of the dispenser.

FIG. 4 shows a portion of front plate 14 separated from interior frontplate 70. Paddle wheel chamber 78 is seen to be defined in part by awall portion 82 formed into the interior plate 70, and a correspondingwall portion 84 formed into front plate 14. Motor unit 52 is attached tointerior plate 70. PCB 54 is also attached to interior plate 70.

A hole 83 in interior plate 70 is aligned with micro switch 56 (notshown in FIG. 4, being located on the far side of PCB 54). Pin 85,molded as a part of front plate 14, extends through hole 83 to makecontact with micro switch 56. Such contact is made only when front plate14 is in a closed position against interior plate 70. Once front plate14 is moved, pin 85 no longer contacts micro switch 56. This means thatmicro switch senses the removal of front cover plate 14, and interruptsall connections to both motors when this occurs. This is a safetyfeature, and prevents the motors from being activated when the unit isopened for cleaning or maintenance.

FIG. 5 is a close up view of paddle wheel 46. Gears 48 are ribbed, andalign with ribs on the interior surface of paddle wheel 46. Thisprevents paddle wheel 46 from becoming stuck in place while motor unit52 is driving it. Paddle wheel has a number of identical blades, 8 asshown in this figure, evenly spaced around its central core. Each pairof adjacent blades, in cooperation with the central core and the wallsof the paddle wheel chamber, defines a fixed volume capable of holdingfeed pellets to be transported to the impeller chamber. Each volume isseparate, and together they act to prevent feed flow when paddle wheel46 is not rotating. This operation is similar to the operation of arevolving door to prevent air flow out of a building when the door ismotionless.

FIG. 6 illustrates back cover 66 when it is opened. Pivot points 86 areat the lower edge of cover 66, with latch 68 at the top as previouslydescribed. Opening cover 66 allows it to be lowered below horizontal, atwhich time the timer 62 can be read and programmed. Remote controlreceiver unit 64 is also accessible. This remote receiver unit is used,as known in the art, to enable manual operation of the feeder using alow power radio transmitter similar to a garage door opener. Droppingcover 66 below a horizontal position also allows access to battery 60,which can be easily replaced.

FIG. 7 shows a side view of dispensing unit 10 attached underneath afeed hopper 88. Feed is placed into hopper 88 at intervals, andgenerally covered against the weather. Hopper 88 has an opening in thebottom that allows feed to drop through opening 22 in adapter housing20. FIG. 7 is the normal orientation for the dispenser 10.

Referring to FIG. 8, dispenser 10 is shown from a top perspective viewwith hopper 88 removed. This view shows an optional size adapter plate90 that can be attached to adapter housing 20 to enable attachment tolarger hoppers. Size adapter plate 90 also has an opening 92 to allowfeed to pass through. Attachment bolts 94 are used to connect theadapter housing 20 to the hopper. If size adapter plate 90 is not used,similar bolts are provided directly in adapter housing 20 to attach itto the hopper.

FIG. 9 illustrates the use of blocking slide plate 24 to stop flow offeed into the dispenser. When blocking plate 24 is pulled forward asshown in FIG. 9, the opening 28 therein is no longer aligned with thefeed opening 22 in adapter housing 20. this completely blocks flow offeed into dispenser 10. This is only needed if dispenser 10 is removedfrom the hopper 88, which would otherwise allow all of the feed held inhopper 88 to run out on the ground. With the use of blocking plate 24,the dispenser 10 can be removed from hopper 88 without the need foremptying the hopper.

In the preferred embodiment, front plate 14 is made from a clearplastic, which allows the interior of the unit to be seen up to theinterior front plate 70. This means that the impeller chamber 72, thepaddle wheel chamber 78, and the feed passageway 80 can be viewedwithout removing any covers. This allows visual inspection of theinterior to determine the cause of any failure to dispense feed, such ascaused by a jam. IF a jam occurs that will not clear itself, front plate14 can be removed to clear the jam.

With the described mechanism, using a slowly rotating paddle wheel and ahigh speed impeller as described, feed jams are rare. Measured amountsof feed are delivered to the impeller. Unlike many current systems, inwhich the amount of feed delivered is a function of gravity, and feedmoisture and stickiness, with the present invention the volume of feeddelivered by the paddle wheel is fairly constant. This is because thevolume of each paddle wheel chamber is constant, and the rotation speedof the paddle wheel is constant and known. Feed volume is the product ofthe rotational rate of the paddle wheel, volumes of the individualpaddle wheel chambers, and the time that the paddle wheel is activated.

Preferably, small openings, or weep holes, are provided at the junctionof the dispenser chute 16 and front plate 14. This prevents water frombuilding up in the impeller chamber. The impeller chamber is angled sothat the junction of the front plate 14 and dispenser chute 16 is thelowest point through which the feed pellets pass through the device.

Weatherproof gaskets are preferably provided around both motors, thegear reduction assembly, and the micro switch. This prevents moisturefrom interfering with the operation of these devices.

The device described herein is rugged and reliable, and almostimpervious to jamming as a result of the feed absorbing moisture.Because the front cover is easily removed for servicing, any jams thatdo occur can be easily corrected. The overall device is quite compact,being much smaller than anything currently available on the market. Thepreferred embodiment described above fits approximately in a cube 9inches on a side, and is very effective at dispersing feed over a largearea.

Most of the parts used to fabricate dispenser 10 are injection moldedplastic, which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and sturdy. Mostof the parts are preferably a polypropylene having a high IZOD rating,which is durable in the outdoor environment in which these devices areused. The front cover plate 14 is preferably formed from a clearpolycarbonate, allowing any feed jams to be easily viewed withoutremoving front plate 14. If a jam occurs, front plate 14 can be easilyremoved, as previously described, in order to deal with it. Thepolycarbonate used to make cover plate 14 is also extremely durable, foruse in the field.

Blocking plate 24 is made of a thin sheet of stainless steel or similarmaterial. This allows plate 24 to be made very thin, and still stringenough to perform both a blocking function, and have an edge thin enoughto cut through any feed that happens to be in the way when blockingplate 24 is moved to the closed position. Thus, the inner edge of theblocking plate opening 28 acts as a knife edge to cut any feed pelletsin the way, allowing blocking plate 24 to be moved to the closedposition even when the hopper is full of feed.

As previously described, paddle wheel 46 is made from a soft rubber orsimilar material. Impeller 40, on the other hand, is made from a strong,rigid material. Preferably, stainless steel or a galvanized metal isused for strength and water resistance. A hard and sturdy plastic mayalso be used, if desired.

While the invention has been shown in only one of its forms, it is notthus limited but is susceptible to various changes and modificationswithout departing from the spirit thereof.

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 10. (canceled) 11.A feed dispensing device, comprising: a housing having a feed dischargechute at a front side thereof; a first motor mounted inside the housingand having in impeller connected thereto, wherein the impeller islocated so as to propel feed through the discharge chute; a second motormounted inside the housing and having a paddle wheel connected thereto,wherein the paddle wheel is located so as to drop feed to the impellerwhen the second motor is operated, and wherein the paddle wheel isfurther located so as to block feed from flowing down through an openingin a top of the housing when the second motor is not operated; a feedhopper for holding feed to be dispensed; an adapter connected to the topof the housing and the lower portion of the hopper, wherein the adapteris separable into two parts, and wherein a first part remains connectedto the hopper, and a second part remains connected to the housing, whena separation occurs, and further wherein the adapter includes a blockingplate within the adapter first part, wherein the blocking plate isoperable to block flow of feed from the hopper when a separation occurs;a controller mounted inside the housing for separately operating thefirst and second motors during a feeding cycle, wherein the controlleris operated to run a feeding cycle at preselected intervals.
 12. Thefeed dispensing device of claim 11, wherein a portion of the housing isremovable adjacent the discharge chute, and further comprising a switch,operable by removing the removable portion of the housing, which acts toprevent operation of the motors when the removable portion is removed.13. The feed dispensing device of claim 11, further comprising: anaccess door located on a back side of the housing, wherein thecontroller is accessible when the access door is opened.
 14. The feeddispensing device of claim 14, wherein the controller is mounted on aninside surface of the access door, and further comprising: a springloaded lock on the access door, such spring loaded lock including aslider on the access door, and a spring between the access door and aportion of the housing, wherein moving the slider to one side frees thespring to pop the access door partially open.
 15. An adapter forattaching a feed dispenser housing, having an opening in an uppersurface thereof, to a feed hopper having an opening in a lower portionthereof, comprising: an adapter upper portion having an openingtherethrough, and having a connector for connecting to the feed hopperlower portion so as to align with the feed hopper opening; an adapterlower portion having an opening therethrough, and having a connector forconnecting to the feed dispenser housing so as to align with the housingopening, wherein the adapter upper and lower portions, when connectedtogether, define a passage between the upper adapter opening and thelower adapter opening that allows passage of feed therethrough; areleasable connector connected to the adapter upper and lower portionsto allow them to be separated; a blocking device connected to the upperadapter housing, wherein the blocking device has a first and a secondposition, and wherein in the first position the blocking device allowsfeed to flow through the adapter upper portion, and wherein in thesecond position the blocking device prevents feed from flowing throughthe upper adapter portion.
 16. The adapter of claim 15, wherein theblocking device comprises a planar blocking plate having a hole therein,and wherein in the first position the blocking plate blocks flow of feedthrough the upper portion opening, and wherein in the second positionthe blocking plate opening is aligned with the upper portion opening soas to allow feed to flow therethrough.